Cancer guide
By Cura Editorial Team ·
One of the most preventable cancers — screening from age 45 catches most cases before they become invasive, and MSI/MMR testing shapes modern treatment.
Early signs, which ones need a same-week doctor visit, and what screening looks like.
Read the symptoms guideThe questions that shape treatment — biomarkers, staging, surgery, chemo, second opinions.
Read the questions guideRecent approvals and trial results — and the questions to ask your oncologist about whether any of it applies to you. Not every option fits every person.
The FDA approved nivolumab plus ipilimumab for advanced MSI-H/dMMR colorectal cancer after a phase 3 trial showed longer progression-free survival than chemotherapy.
May apply to: MSI-H or dMMR metastatic colorectal cancer
Ask your oncologist:
Source: FDA
Based on the phase 3 BREAKWATER trial, the FDA gave full approval to encorafenib with cetuximab and chemotherapy as a first treatment for BRAF V600E colorectal cancer.
May apply to: BRAF V600E-mutant metastatic colorectal cancer
Ask your oncologist:
Source: FDA
Reviewed September 25, 2026.
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The signs that most often lead to a colon cancer diagnosis are: blood in the stool or rectal bleeding; a change in bowel habits lasting more than a few weeks; unexplained anemia, weight loss, or abdominal pain. Any of these lasting more than a couple of weeks is worth a same-week appointment, even though most turn out to be something else.
See a doctor promptly if a symptom is new, persistent, or getting worse rather than better. Describe when it started, how often it happens, and what makes it better or worse — that detail is what decides whether you get imaging or testing at the first visit.
One of the most preventable cancers — screening from age 45 catches most cases before they become invasive, and MSI/MMR testing shapes modern treatment. Screening (colonoscopy or stool-based tests) is recommended starting at 45. Rising rates in adults under 50 — don't dismiss symptoms because of age. MSI/MMR testing determines whether immunotherapy is an option.
Ask what the exact diagnosis is and how it is staged, what the treatment options are and in what order they would happen, what the goal of treatment is, which side effects to expect, and whether a second opinion or clinical trial makes sense for your situation.
Paste a pathology report, upload a scan summary, or just type the question you'd ask your oncologist if you had more than 15 minutes. Cura will answer in plain language.
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If a start date is on the calendar, or you feel lost between diagnosis and the first infusion, build a first-visit brief on the page: what's known, what's missing, what to ask. Homework, not a treatment plan.
Cura Brief is educational. It is not medical advice, a diagnosis, or a treatment plan. Confirm everything with your oncology team. If this is an emergency, call emergency services. Email is not an emergency line.
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Waiting for results is its own kind of hard. Cura has a plain-language guide to what the wait actually means — and what to do while you wait.
How long do biopsy results take?